Motto and Mission Statement

"Language is the dress of thought; every time you speak, your mind is on parade."
-- Dr. Samuel Johnson

"Learning is like rowing upstream; not to advance is to drop back."
--Chinese Proverb




The Reading Nook

  • The 2010 Newbery Medal winner is "When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead, published by Wendy Lamb Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books. Twelve-year-old Miranda encounters shifting friendships, a sudden punch, a strange homeless man and mysterious notes that hint at knowledge of the future. These and other seemingly random events converge in a brilliantly constructed plot.
  • 2010 Newberry Honors Book: "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin, published by Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers. A rich tapestry of stories, both original and traditional, transports readers to a fantastic world where Dragon joins Minli on a fortune-changing quest.
  • 2010 Newberry Honors Book: "The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg" by Rodman Philbrick, published by The Blue Sky Press, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc. This rollicking yarn, presented through the voice of 12-year-old Homer, uses humor and pluck to mitigate the horrors of the Civil War.
  • 2010 Newberry Honors Book: "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly, published by Henry Holt and Company. On the eve of the 20th century, 11-year-old Calpurnia awakens to new possibilities, and through her evolving relationship with her naturalist grandfather, learns to think like a scientist. Kelly’s rich, evocative language captures Callie’s distinctive voice and lively observations of the natural world.
  • 2010 Newberry Honors Book: "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose, published by Melanie Kroupa Books, Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Hoose reveals the true story of an unsung hero of the Montgomery bus boycott. Hoose’s work stands out for its creative approach to narrative biography. Colvin’s own recollections are merged seamlessly with the narrative voice, providing a uniquely personal view of Colvin and the Civil Rights Movement.

Monday, January 18, 2010

January 17, 2010 - Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day

Danelaw \DAYN-law\ (noun)

Meaning: 1 : the law in force in the part of England held by the Danes before the Norman Conquest
*2 : the part of England under the Danelaw

(* Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.)

Example Sentence: "In the 11th and 12th centuries, the Danelaw between the Rivers Tees and Thames was governed much differently than areas to the south and west."

Did you know?

When the Vikings invaded the east coast of England in the late 800s, their conquests reached as far as the southern kingdom of Wessex, where they were halted by the army of Alfred the Great. The invaders, many of whom were Danish, retreated back north and east to the lands they had conquered, and settled there. This region — stretching from Essex, just above London, through East Anglia and the eastern Midlands, all the way up to Northumbria — was distinguished from the surrounding territory by its unique legal practices, which, because they were decidedly Danish in influence, made up what Old English folks down south called the 'Dena lagu' or, in today's English, the 'Danes' law.' Historians later applied the term 'Danelaw' not only to the legal system of the region but to that geographical area itself.

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